The capital of the Buyeo Kingdom was Muzha City. (Today's Nong'an County, Changchun City.)

As the capital of Buyeo, this wooden fortress lives up to its name.

From a distance, the city, except for the central palace, is mostly made of wood. Even the outer city walls are similar to those of a stockade, only a few inches higher than ordinary stockade walls. The entire city is circular.

Twenty miles south of Muzha City, there was a large camp built along the water. This army was led by King Yi Siong of Goguryeo, and numbered as many as 50,000.

In fact, as early as last year, Goguryeo and Buyeo had been clashing over the capture of slaves. It wasn't until this year, when Goguryeo acquired a large amount of supplies and provisions through trade, that it launched a large-scale military operation to destroy Buyeo.

The two countries fought for several months. Buyeo was no match for Goguryeo and was driven to the gates of its capital. It was on the verge of being destroyed.

Inside the camp, King Yi Hyo of Goguryeo sat regally in the main seat.

Looking around at everyone in the tent, Li Xiao focused his gaze on a middle-aged man at the head of the right.

"Prime Minister, what is the situation regarding our army's food supplies?"

The Right Chancellor rose and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, our army still has 100,000 shi of grain left over, enough for our army to eat for two months."

"Okay, it shouldn't take more than two months."

After saying this, Li Xiao stood up, looked at the generals in the tent, and said loudly, "Pass on my order: the army should have a hearty meal, then attack the city and take Muzha City in one fell swoop."

"promise!!"

The generals accepted the order and rose to leave.

After all the generals had left, the Right Chancellor looked at Li Xiao with a worried expression.

"Your Majesty, our army has been fighting for months and is extremely exhausted. If we hastily attack the city now, I fear we will not be able to capture it."

Li Xiao waved his hand, "It's alright. Our army is exhausted, and the Buyeo people are not having an easy time either. The two armies are now competing on their willpower. Whoever can't hold on first will lose."

"Your Majesty is right, but I am worried that the Han Kingdom might send troops to punish you. After all, you killed their envoy and are now attacking their vassal state. If they send troops, I fear..."

"Alas, there are rebellions in various parts of the Han Kingdom. They are already too busy to take care of themselves. They may even have replaced the emperor. How can they have the mind to care about this place? Otherwise, I would not have dared to kill their soldiers and envoys."

Before the Right Chancellor could finish speaking, Li Xiao interrupted him with a smile.

The Right Chancellor, still looking worried, said, "However, the Han rebellion has been going on for almost a year, and it may have been quelled. We still need to be very careful."

Li Xiao frowned: "It shouldn't be like that. After all, it's a rebellion of more than 400,000 people. How could it happen so quickly?"

"Alas, Your Majesty, you know the fighting strength of the Han army. Besides, so much time has passed and not a single message has come through. I suspect that someone is deliberately blocking the news. Once Lu Zhi's army returns to Youzhou, our army will probably have a hard time resisting them."

Li Xiao nodded: "That makes sense. It seems we need to act quickly and take Muzha City as soon as possible."

Subsequently, Li Xiao issued another order, promising generous rewards to the Goguryeo soldiers who attacked the city, which greatly boosted the morale of the Goguryeo army.

Soon, after the Goguryeo army had eaten its fill, it surrounded the wooden fortress.

Upon learning of the approaching Goguryeo army, King Weichoutai of Buyeo urgently summoned his civil and military officials to discuss countermeasures.

"Do any of you have a good strategy to repel the enemy?"

The civil and military officials inside the hall exchanged glances, all shaking their heads and sighing, remaining silent.

"Bang!" Upon seeing this, Wei Choutai slammed his fist on the table in anger, glaring at his ministers with a cold glint in his eyes.

"Why are you all silent? Do you perhaps intend to surrender to that Li Xiao?"

Wei Qiutai's murderous words sent a chill down the spines of the ministers present.

"This... Your Majesty misunderstands, we have absolutely no such intention."

"Yes, Your Majesty, that Li Xiao is cruel and ruthless. We all hate him and would never surrender."

The officials bowed to Wei Choutai with expressions of fear and explained their loyalty. As for what they were really thinking, no one knew.

Seeing this, Wei Choutai didn't bother to argue anymore, and instead asked in a deep voice, "Then, gentlemen, please tell me, how should we repel the enemy?"

Upon hearing this, the officials fell silent once more, stammering and unable to offer a coherent explanation.

Just as Wei Qiutai was about to lash out, You Lianxiang Qi stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, we now have less than 20,000 soldiers capable of fighting within the wooden fortress, while Goguryeo has 50,000. Our army is truly unable to withstand them. Perhaps..."

"Not as good as what? Surrender, is that it?"

Before Lian Qi could finish speaking, Wei Choutai stood up abruptly and glared fiercely at Lian Qi.

"No, no, Your Majesty misunderstands." Lian Qi hurriedly waved his hand to explain: "What I mean is, it would be better to conscript able-bodied men from within the city to participate in the defense of the city, and also send someone to request reinforcements from the Han Dynasty."

"The Great Han?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Our Buyeo is a vassal state of the Great Han. Now that we are on the verge of extinction, the Great Han will certainly not abandon us."

Wei Choutai frowned: "We haven't paid tribute for many years. Furthermore, I've heard that the Han Dynasty is currently unstable, with rebellions breaking out in various places. Do you think they can afford to worry about us?"

Lian Qi said, "Your Majesty is overthinking it. The Han Dynasty has always considered itself a superior nation. They will not ignore our plea for help. Besides, how could a mere rebel army be a match for the Han army? I suppose the rebellion has already been wiped out. Since it was an internal matter for them, that's why they've kept the news under wraps, right?"

"That makes sense. Right now, the only way to get through this crisis is to ask the Han Dynasty for help."

Lian Qi's words ignited a glimmer of hope in Wei Choutai's heart.

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